Fish and Wildlife Disease/Infestation

While disease is a natural part of the environment, it sometimes spins out of control. Diseases that are newly introduced to an area can become a real problem since host species have no defenses against them.

Poorly understood diseases, such as chronic wasting disease, can persist in the environment, are contagious and are therefore extremely difficult to control. CWD is a disease in the same family as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (“mad cow disease”) but it affects members of the deer and elk family. The cases of CWD in the wild are most likely the result of spillover from infected game farms. CWF is consistently working to open a dialogue with governments on how to best address CWD. In 2008, CWF funded important research on CWD by the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre, a leader in wildlife health science. CWF also funded a socio-economic analysis of the management of CWD to help inform future management decisions 

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